When we grow up
by UndertheApfelBaum
Summary: When a traumatised and gibberish-speaking boy arrives at the order, the exorcists are forced to comfort him. Who'd have thought Kanda would be the person he'd respond to best? KandaxOC shounen-ai, reviews are loved
1. Chapter 1

Hello, there. Thought I'd try one with an OC for a protagonist, we'll see how it works out. Hope you enjoy it, I'll be making review demands at the end! Though there will be less, given the length of the chapter and last times pitiful response-If you read this, please review! I'd love to improve so even if you hate it I'd like the advice :)

**disclaimer_:_** Alas, -man is not mine, and nor is any other anime. I would find it very interesting if there ever was a person on that didn't _need_ to put a disclaimer on, though!

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The dining hall was full of noise. Orders to Jerry and the chefs were being shouted over the chatter of its inhabitants and the clattering of pots and pans from behind the counter. Exorcists were discussing missions to come, or laughing at tales of those gone by; scientists were debating heatedly over techniques and experiments, and complaining about the amounts of work they had been set; and finders were talking about their homes and families in the past and sharing gossip and rumours, cheerfully forgetting the danger some of them had faced perhaps just days ago. It was a happy sight, and all but two of those in the hall were sharing in the buzzing and merriment.

The first, a dark haired exorcist with a sullen face and proud stance, was Kanda Yuu, who's current mission was to concentrate solely on his soba and ignore the teasing of his 'companions'. Famous within the order for his stoic personality, his patience was wearing exceedingly thin as he sat at the dining table opposite Lavi and Allen, who had made it their purpose in life to destroy his reputation as a 'lone wolf'. Previously they had saved their pestering for bouts of boredom during missions, but for some reason, they had recently stepped up their campaign, proceeding to seek him out at every opportunity and leaving his only escapes as sleep or meditation. He kept his gaze firmly following his chopsticks and took another mouthful of his meal to prevent himself from screaming at them, closing his eyes in a useless attempt at blocking out their incessant chatter.

The second, in contrast to the first, went unnoticed by those around him, a small boy hunched in the corner of the room, long silver hair hanging like a curtain over his face and landing on the floor, where it curled at the ends. He made no noise, not even a sigh of frustration as Kanda would emit, his wide, quivering eyes staring through the space between his knees. As people passed by him, he could only shiver, unshed tears blurring his vision and hesitating at the corners of his eyes. Originally, he had entered the hall to escape from the questioning of his captors, desperate for quiet and distance from other people, but when the bell had rung for dinner and everyone had begun to file in, he hadn't had the courage to leave. Biting his lip, he didn't so much as wince as the blood began to trickle down his chin, and as Komui entered the hall, he looked down sadly upon the boy. He began to move his arm, but stopped, his hand a few meters away from the boy's head, and turned swiftly around, bounding up to the first silent member and taking the seat next to him.

"I've got a job for you three!" he said brightly, only to be met with a groan from the red haired, bandanna sporting exorcist.

"Another!?" Lavi cried, "But we just returned from the last mission!" Komui waved his hand dismissively.

"No, no, nothing like that-you can stay here. Think of this as a game, or a competition if it motivates you." There was a pause as the three exorcists stared at him in confusion, Kanda even going as far as to place his chopsticks on the table, deciding that the matter warranted enough attention.

"What is it?" Allen asked curiously, and Komui nodded towards the boy in the corner, all three exorcists simultaneously jumping as they noticed him for the first time, "Who is he?"

"That's our problem-we don't know. He turned up on the steps, in a much worse condition than he is now, and when he finally regained consciousness, he wouldn't let anyone near him, either panicking or yelling a language that no one here has even heard of, let alone understands. It could be gibberish for all we know."

"But why is he here?" Allen asked, his natural instincts drawing him to be concerned for the boy. Glancing over, all three exorcists could see that he was desperate to get away, and from his gaze, it didn't seem as though he knew the purpose for his presence.

"We can't tell. He appears to be traumatised, and though we know he must have made his way here for a reason-I've never met anyone who has found their way here without intending to-we can't quite tell what it is if we don't help him."

"So you want us to make him talk?" Kanda's monotone was blunt and harsh, making Komui wince.

"Not _make _him, persay…more like _help_ him. Find out what's wrong, in order to persuade him to tell us his reason for being here." Kanda stared at him for a moment, before picking up his chopsticks once again.

"Well, you can leave it to those two, then. You should no by now that I'm not suited for that kind of thing, and nor do I particularly want to be. It's more a task for a moyashi." Komui's face turned grim.

"There's no choice about it. People are different. We have no idea what kind of personality he will respond best to, and so each of you will spend some time with him every day until he opens up. The one who he talks to first is the winner. Simple, ne?" His bright tone returned, and Kanda glowered.

"It sounds interesting," Lavi said, standing and rolling up his sleeves before pointing at Kanda, "I challenge you, Yuu! We shall see who the victor shall be-to the death!" Despite himself, Allen laughed, and Lavi silently smiled at the fact that he had perhaps managed to prevent his friend from becoming too emotionally attached.

"I still don't think-" his muttering was interrupted by a terrified shriek, and the situation reversed as everyone but the silver haired boy fell silent. He had leapt up, and was panting heavily, speaking quickly with words that didn't make sense. He pressed himself against the wall, trying to get further away from the innocent finder who had stopped to enquire as to whether he was alright. Komui stood up quickly, striding purposefully towards the boy, who, on seeing him, frantically began looking for a way out of the masses of people, ice blue eyes wide and glistening. Komui took him from behind wrapping one arm around his neck and using the other to place a cloth over the boy's nose and mouth. The boy struggled violently for a few seconds, muffled squeaks coming from behind the cloth, before falling silent, his eyes rolling backwards as he slumped, unconscious, to the floor. There was silence as Komui and the finder attempted to pick him up, and Lavi's jaw dropped considerably.

"You expect us to take care of that!?" He said, aghast, and was met by a serious glance from Komui, tinted with a hint of concern for the child in his arms.

"I _need_ you to take care of 'that'," He said, proceeding to drag the boy out of the room and smiling again, "Well, I call you once he wakes up. You get to decide who goes first-have fun!!!" Kanda glared viciously after the back of the man before returning to his soba, inwardly grumbling about the task he had been assigned, if only to block out the concern and curiosity that had awoken in his mind, leading him to question the boy's origins, and the reason for such an extreme reaction.

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Thank you for reading, and please review! I want ALL criticisms (and praise, too, haha) I'll ask for...6 reviews, this time, as I like that number, but 9 would be amazing (it's my lucky one)

*-Amaya-*


	2. Chapter 2

Managed to type this up between exams and revision ^^ Hope it's not terrible....it is un-beta'd....

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Three exorcists sat on a stone bench, staring absently at a bolted steel door, waiting.

They had been there for almost an hour now, and after using the first 15 minutes to quickly decide the order in which they were to visit the mysterious boy-with Kanda electing himself last in the hope that the problem would be resolved before he need to bother-they had descended into an awkward silence, each wondering how they might approach the boy, and how much longer they would have to wait before he woke up.

As if on cue, a shout accompanied by a bang against the metal door sounded, signifying the boy's-rather violent-revival. A further series of bangs were heard, followed by Komui's muffled cries, and when silence finally came, there was a pause of what seemed like hours before the door was heaved open, revealing a dishevelled looking Komui standing in the doorway, doing his best to hide the fact that he was out of breath.

"Right!" he said cheerily, putting his beret back into place, "Who's first?" Lavi leapt to his feet, clapping his hands together overly-enthusiastically.

"That'd be me…" he said, laughing nervously as he stepped forward, "Wish me luck, guys!" the door closed behind him, and Komui left at a brisk pace, muttering something about a demon-child and coffee.

Two exorcists sat on the stone bench, staring at where there companion had entered, even more determined not to speak, and waiting.

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Lavi sighed as he closed the door behind him, partially at the fact that a child should have to be imprisoned in such high security and partially at the fact that he was about to try and talk to that child. Turning around, he saw that the boy was sat tightly in the corner of the room, head once more between his knees, and Lavi approached him slowly, deciding to take the opportunity of silence to study him at a closer angle.

He was shivering, and given the temperature of the room, it could hardly be because of the cold. His brows were almost stapled into a frown, and on hearing Lavi approach (surprising the teen himself, who had thought that he had succeeded in not making any noise), he jerked his head up in such a vicious movement that he felt he must have hurt the boy's neck. His lilac-grey eyes were wide and shining, as though he was on the verge of tears. He had a young, feminine face, accentuated by the length of his silver hair, but Lavi judged from his stature that he had to be at least 17, perhaps older. Taking a deep breath, Lavi forced a smile.

"Hi there," The boy made eye contact with him-a rabbit caught in headlights, he thought-but said nothing, "I'm Lavi. Who're you?" There was no reply, and another sigh escaped Lavi's lips. He didn't know what he could do if the boy wouldn't talk-as a Bookman in training, he had felt sure that he would be able to recognise and speak the 'strange language' that the boy was said to utter, but he couldn't manage that if he wasn't allowed to hear it...He sat himself opposite the boy, crossing his legs and scratching his head in an elaborate show of thinking. Allen would more than likely try the gentle approach, that being in his personality, and it wasn't worth trying the same method twice. Yuu…he wasn't sure whether he would even make the effort-the idea of Kanda trying to be patient with another human being made him laugh, loudly. The sound provoked another startled reaction from the boy, emitting a small squeak and giving Lavi an idea.

He talked. He talked about anything he could think of, from the two exorcists waiting outside the room to the growing population of rabbits in the order's grounds, and he spoke I whatever language came into his head, hoping that he would eventually hit the jackpot. The boy didn't once make a sound, but Lavi noticed with some satisfaction that his shivering was subsiding, and his focus seemed to be held more and more on Lavi's voice. When Komui entered the room half an hour later to announce that his time was up, Lavi left happily, confident that the boy was calm enough to listen to whatever Allen might be planning to say next.

Allen smiled nervously at him as they crossed paths, and Lavi waved his hand dismissively to reassure him. The door closed once more, and Lavi turned to Kanda, sitting alone now on the bench with an extremely foul expression on his face.

"Aw, don't worry, Yuu! It'll be fine!" he said teasingly, patting Kanda on the head and ignoring his menacing glare, "You never know-you might make a friend!! After all," He couldn't resist adding as he walked past after Komui, "His hair's almost as nice as yours…!"

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Allen entered the room quietly, peering at the boy in the corner with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. He judged by the deep breathing of the boy that Lavi had managed to calm him, if only a little, and sat opposite him silently, waiting until they made eye contact. For a long period of time, the boy kept his gaze to the floor, tracing random patterns with his finger, but eventually he surrendered to the feeling of Allen's kind but piercing gaze upon him and looked up, despite the white hair covering most of his face. Allen wondered idly if he, too, had been cursed, before gathering the courage to speak.

"Hi," he spoke softly, and the gentle tone seemed to surprise the boy, causing him to blink and tilt his head like a curious animal, seeming like he had expected something harsher, "My name is Allen Walker. Can you tell me yours?" the boy's mouth opened slightly, and he took a breath as though to speak, but then he clamped shut and shook his head vigorously. Allen sighed inwardly, but he supposed that, in the long run, any assertive action would be a good sign. Probably.

"We can help you," He said, doing his best to keep his tone calm, but genuinely concerned for the boy, "but we won't know where to start if you don't give us information." The boy began tracing on the floor again, and Allen noticed that his clothes were extremely large for him-the long sleeves of his shirt flowed much further than his hand, balanced on his knuckles to allow his finger to move and making his slim fingers look even frailer. Watching the hand in hope that the patterns would give him a clue, Allen didn't notice the boy crying until a tear fell in the path of his finger, trailing a damp swirl. Allen looked up in shock, but the boy's expression hadn't changed, the only differences being the liquid brimming in his eyes and the damp tracks causing his hair to stick to his face.

Allen's hand drifted toward the boy's but he stopped himself just short of his wrist, remembering the reaction he had had when the finder had approached him in the dining hall. He stared blankly at the crying face of the boy, feeling a hint of desperation rising to his throat, for a reason he couldn't quite fathom. Instead of comforting the boy as he wished to, he begged.

"Please," He said, the desperation becoming apparent in his voice, "Just a name would do. Anything. All we want to do is help you…" he cursed himself for having become too involved again, imagining Kanda's lecturing when he found out. He just couldn't stand the sight of his suffering…

"Lkue." The boy looked as if the word had taken a supernatural amount of effort to bring out and he still hadn't quite managed to get it right.

"Is that your name?" he asked, beaming as the boy frowned but nodded-perhaps he could get somewhere after all, "It's very unusual." 'Lkue' shook his head, still frowning, and opened his mouth again.

"tsi' tno-" he began, before uttering what sounded like a curse and crossing quickly to the other side of the room, sitting down with his back to Allen. Allen stared in disbelief at the sudden change of mood.

"Lkue?" He began, and was ignored, "What is it?" still no response. Allen waited for what seemed like an eternity, trying to think of something to say that might encourage the boy to talk again, but failing miserably, thinking that he couldn't solve a problem that he didn't know the cause of. In the end, he gave up, his shoulders dropping in resignation, "Would you like me to leave?" He asked, softly, and the boy nodded, "But you realise there's one more person after me. Are you OK with him coming in?" A firm shake, but he still wouldn't turn around, "But you'd still rather have me leave?" There was a hesitation before the boy nodded, but it was clear he'd made his decision. Allen exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he stood. It would probably be better for him to do as he wished-if he needed to, he could always visit later, and tomorrow would be a completely new day. Opening the door, he noticed Kanda looking up sharply.

"What are you doing out already? The time isn't up." He snapped accusingly, and Allen glared.

"He wanted me to leave. I doubt you'll get anywhere either, to be honest-he didn't want you to go in."

"Well, in that case-" Allen pinned him to the wall in a quick and violent movement as the samurai got up to leave, and Kanda rolled his eyes but didn't try to resist, knowing what he was about to say.

"Komui will kill you if you skip your work, _Ba-_Kanda," he said drily, releasing the frustration that the boy had caused, "And you had better put the effort in-that boy needs our help, whether you want him to or not." Kanda pushed Allen off and made towards the door, but stopped as Allen called him back, "Oh, and I got a name before I left-Lkue." Kanda snorted and turned swiftly towards the room, opening and slamming the door in one fluid motion.

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I was going to do Kanda's in this chapter as well, but I just haven't had the time...and I thought you'd like to know I was alive...It's long enough, isn't it?

Yeah, the ending might just fail a little bit...sorry *winces*

Please R+R!!! If you don't, Kanda will chop your hair off . Seriously, I need the encouragement, particularly at this moment in time...

*-Amaya-*


	3. Chapter 3

*is back*

This has gone through several rewrites, I'm hoping it's long enough--I ended up getting rid of a big scene because it was so crappy

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Kanda burst into the room without so much as a glance to its inhabitant, striding quickly and purposefully towards the opposite corner and drawing mugen before sitting down in one fluid movement, keeping his back to the silver haired boy. He stared at the wall, taking out his whet stone and beginning to sharpen his katana, determined to pay no heed and make no progress with 'Lkue'. After all, if the other two had managed to take even small steps forward and he developed no communication whatsoever with the boy, they were sure to take him off the job eventually…and then he wouldn't have to bother with such a nuisance. He gave a small nod of self-affirmation before returning his focus to the innocence in his hands.

Kanda concentrated solely on the scraping of whet stone on metal, completely blocking out all of the sniffs and whimpers coming from the other side of the room. He didn't notice these sounds stop, having been so determined not to acknowledge their existence in the first place, and nor did he hear the soft padding of the boys knees on the floor as he made his way steadily closer, until a curious and pale hand laid itself on mugen's blade. Kanda reacted instinctively, jerking back the hand that was gripping his sword in a mixture of surprise and protectiveness, and the boy retreated a few metres, staring wide-eyed at Kanda with fear and clutching his palm shakily, which was slowly filling up with blood. Watching the red liquid dripping slowly onto the floor and refusing to meet Lkue's terrified gaze, Kanda felt a-tiny-pang of guilt inside his chest, but firmly brushed it aside, choosing instead to shake his head at the boy's idiocy and the annoyance that had been caused, and began to approach the boy. Lkue moved further back, scrambling, still gripping his palm and falling over backwards as his leg propelled him further than he expected. Kanda snorted in contempt, but caught himself as the boy looked at him once again with fear.

"_Baka," _He muttered in his native tongue, "You don't touch other people's swords." Lkue said nothing, edging a little further back as Kanda took another step forward and shaking his head slightly, though what it was in response to, Kanda couldn't tell. He sighed, frustrated, "Look, it's fine by me if you want to sit there and bleed to death-it'd get rid of a hassle-but all I wanted to do was look at that wound." Lkue hesitated at the samurai's bluntness, staring with confusion and mistrust between his palm and Kanda, as though trying to discern if someone as blunt as that, who had in fact caused the wound, would ever offer to help. Kanda cautiously attempted to take another step towards the boy, and this time, he didn't react, making Kanda complete the distance quickly, crouching down and grabbing the other's wrist roughly, ignoring his sharp gasp of pain. Kanda's eyes quickly scanned the damage, wiping the pool of blood from the wound with his sleeve.

He frowned. The wound had gone deep; despite the fact that he hadn't been aiming to hurt anyone, and the movement hadn't contained much force, his blade was in the process of being sharpened, which hadn't been necessary in the first place. The boy's hand quivered slightly in his own, and Kanda considered giving the boy a look of sympathy for a moment, before shaking the thought thoroughly from his mind, muttering, "I think matron had better look at this…" Lkue snatched the hand back, catching it slightly on Kanda's fingers but ignoring the pain as he held it protectively to his chest, shaking his head frantically with a faint trace of ferocity in his eyes.

"S'ti nfie…" he said weakly but desperately, "lyelar!" Kanda glared at the boy, understanding what he was trying to say but not agreeing with it.

"Like hell it is. I don't give a damn what happens to you, but if you don't want it to get infected you really should go to the infirmary, and it might need stitches…Lkue, was it?" he figured using the boy's name might help him communicate, but was surprised when he responded by shaking his head.

"But that's what you told the moya-Allen, isn't it?" he asked sharply, and when he nodded began to wonder if the boy who was not Lkue was toying with them. His brows were furrowed in concentration, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before speaking.

"Ti rvenre esmco tuo hgitr…" he said, his bleeding hand forgotten as he gestured in frustration, "Ti's lal xmedi pu…" Kanda narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher the speech. _Wait. Didn't he just say Ti's? But before he was saying S'ti…_ he hesitated, an idea beginning to form in his mind.

"My name's Kanda," he told the boy, "Can you understand that?"

"Sye." He nodded. Good. Even in another language, names are the same.

"Repeat it."

"Ndaka," The boy frowned, "Kdnaa. On!" the boy growled in frustration, but Kanda leant in closer, taken in by his possible discovery.

"Repeat after me: Yes."

"Sye."

"Sword."

"Wsrdo. Tbu sn'ti shtt a natkaa?" Kanda glared.

"That's irrelevant." And the boy's eyes widened, an expression of confusion forming on his face.

"Uyo nca ndresutna em?" Why were the words so long? Kanda frowned as he worked it out.

"I think so. You said you're name was Lkue, right? So that could mean…Where are you from?"

"Rtinaib."

"Britain?" Kanda confirmed. How strange, his accent was definitely different to Allen's. British names…"Luke?" a small nod, and Kanda rose, feeling that he had accomplished what had been asked of him and walking briskly out of the room, leaving a confused and bleeding Luke sitting in the middle of the floor, watching the samurai go.

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Kanda opened the door to Komui's office to find him in discussion with Lavi and Allen, presumably about the boy. Komui looked towards the door, a downturn appearing on his mouth as he saw Kanda.

"Your time isn't up," he pointed out, "Don't tell me you made him wors-"

"his name's Luke, not Lkue. He talks in anagrams." Kanda was straight to the point, taking a chair and sitting with his arms folded on the other side of the desk. All three stared at him in shock.

"You managed to make him talk for long enough to work that out?"

"You actually made conversation?"

"You really put the effort in?" Kanda glared at Allen, not wanting to admit that he hadn't been intending to.

"I'm so proud of you, Yuu-chan!" Lavi clapped his hands before swallowing as he found mugen pointed at his throat, "Aw, come on, Yuu, I'm your---Yuu, why is there blood on mugen?" Lavi was staring cross eyed at the edge of the blade, and as all eyes followed his gaze to the evidence of Luke's injury tainting the polished steel, Kanda scowled.

"You might want to make sure he goes to the infirmary; he has a wound on his palm. I don't think he wants to go, though." He avoided giving details, not wanting to face Allen's 'noble' act and Lavi attempting to guilt trip him. Allen was already glaring, and Lavi's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"…What exactly did you do to make him talk?" Komui ventured, an almost but not quite threatening tone to his voice. Kanda shrugged.

"Not much-he did most of the talking himself. Not what you're thinking." He added, before turning on his heel and beginning to walk away, pausing to look over his shoulder, "And now I've done everything you asked me to, so I don't have to be involved anymore, right?" although the speech was phrased as a question, the venomous look that accompanied it made it clear he meant it as a statement, and Komui faltered slightly.

"Ah, well, seeing as you're the person he responded best to, then I-" he had slammed the door closed before the supervisor had chance to continue- like hell was he going to get any more involved-and Komui sat down into his chair with a sigh, gathering up some papers and motioning with his hand to let Allen and Lavi know they could leave.

"I suppose we can just give him another order if he refuses to cooperate with anyone else…" he mused, standing up with what he hoped was the right paperwork, "Now, I'd better go and see what kind of mess he's gotten that poor boy into.

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Komui sat in the corner of Luke's 'cell', yet another sigh escaping his normally cheerful lips. Despite what Kanda had said, along with the reports of Lavi and Allen, he found it extremely hard to believe that any progress had been made at all, watching four finders attempt to pin him down, if not to escort him to the infirmary then simply to dress the gash in his palm. Although he had been quiet when they first entered, using the blood that had gathered around him to paint patterns on the floor, at the mention f treatment he had reverted back to the Luke they had first met, wailing pitifully and struggling violently to the point where Komui was beginning to think that their attempt to heal him was only going to make the bleeding worse. He shook his head, wondering what could possibly have made the boy fear medicine so, and watched the struggle continue on, knowing that without it, they were powerless to help him. A finder finally managed to inject something resembling a tranquilizer into Luke's arm, and he slumped instantly, all of his muscles going lax and a few quiet whimpers fading from his mouth as he was carried out of the room. Komui watched him go with some resolve: tomorrow, whether he wanted to or not, Kanda would be brought to see the boy again.

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I'm putting the translation here, because otherwise it kind of spoils Kanda's realisation. From now on, all of his sentences will be translated next to the anagrams:

Chapter 2: He says 'Luke' and 'It's not...'

Chapter three:

1. "It's fine...really!"  
2. "it never comes out right...it's all mixed up"  
3. "Yes"  
4. "Kanda. Kanda. No!"  
5. "Yes"  
6. "Sword. But isn't that a katana?"  
7. "You can understand me?"  
8. "Britain."

So, there y'have it...I hope I'm not making Luke seem too pathetic...his untraumatised personality isn't so much like that, and he might hate me

Reviews will not only be appreciated, they will be printed, stuck to a shrine and worshipped. Even criticism. Trust me! Advice as to how to get more people to read or review this would also be worshipped, because I'm very very critical of my writing, and want more advice ^^

Next chapter, you get to find out why he finds it so easy to pronounce those anagrams =D but I won't write it without reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, I'm back! I'm so sorry about the delay…I have excuses in the author's note, if you want to read them. I apologise for any OOCness in advance, it was hard…

Chapter dedicated to **Sunny Optimism**, who made me so happy that I almost fell off a horse in a daze…several hours after reading the review o.o

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_Rooms like these are always the same. Beds laid out in rows, exact distances apart, and hardly any of them occupied, serving as a permanent reminder that you're one of the unlucky ones, and that there are so many people out there who aren't in the situation you're facing right now. Walls painted in white or some form of gentle pastel, a vague attempt at helping soothe the 'patient', on top of the slightly softer than average lighting and the quiet voices that mustn't be raised under any circumstances. Places like these always use so many 'calming' techniques, which can only ever serve to make someone feel worse; after all, if they feel like they should be trying to calm, there has to be something which could cause panic, doesn't there? And my memories of a room just like this only contribute to that assumption._

_Even the nurses here use the same tone of voice, the same attitude and way of showing their 'concern', and even though this time I'm sure that the emotion behind the gentle tone is genuine, I find it impossible to believe that they are here to help me, or that they care. Because rooms like these are always the same, no matter what the purpose may be, I can't help but hate them all._

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"Kandaaa!" the samurai did his best to ignore the call, staring intently at his breakfast in an effort t persuade himself that it was doing something far more attention grabbing than the dancing Supervisor in front of him.

"Kandaaa!" Komui repeated, a whining quality entering his voice, and when the only response he received was a slight clenching of the fist, he folded his arms, pouting, "Ignore me all you like in your free time, but if you don't do your job, you'll have to answer to Komurin…" at the mention of work, Kanda gave an irritated sigh before raising his head a fraction, barely meeting the Supervisor's eyes but at least giving him his attention.

"A mission?" he asked quickly, but after noticing Komui's hesitant expression, shook his head firmly, instantly guessing what his 'job' was referring to, "No way," he stated, ignoring Komui's pleading whimper, "Make the Usagi or Moyashi do it; they care." There wasn't a single chance that he'd be forced to try and talk to that kid again, not after what happened the first time…and anyway, he wasn't interested. Komui took a seat opposite the dark haired exorcist, shaking his head earnestly.

"You're the only one who can do it, though...he only responded to you," he began, trying to sound reasonable, "And he's giving the Matron no end of trouble, refusing to cooperate with anything they try to do to help him." Kanda's eyes widened slightly at that, feeling a small amount of admiration for the boy's bravery, or perhaps disdain at his stupidity-even he found it impossible to stand up to Matron when she was giving orders. His gaze left Komui's, travelling back down towards his eal and glaring in the bowl as though he intended to poison it.

"What makes you think it's only me he'd respond to, anyway?" he snapped, "How do you know it wasn't just the idiots softening him up, and he would have spoken to anyone who walked though the door by that point?" He allowed himself a small smirk when Komui paused, confident that he had won the argument, but it was quickly wiped from his face as the other's idiotic smile returned, shaking his head and silently saying _'you just don't get it, do you?'_

"Because!" Kanda waited, looking up impatiently when the scientist failed to elaborate and wondering if that was all the man had managed to come up with, "He made Allen leave. That clearly shows us that he wasn't planning on saying anymore. Something about your attitude must have made him spill!" Kanda regarded Komui without much belief, unless the boy was a masochist who felt the urge to talk when a person showed complete disinterest in his issues and nearly sliced his hand in half…he shook his head to rid himself of any guilt that might have been creeping into his mind; it was the brat's fault, definitely.

"Still no," he replied bluntly, beginning to pick up his chopsticks but stopping as he caught the stubborn and almost serious glint behind Komui's glasses.

"Kanda, like I said before, this is your job. An order. You don't have the right to refuse." Kanda took one last look at his breakfast before shooting his supervisor his most venomous glare, resigning himself to the fact that there wasn't going to be a way out of this, and it would probably be less troublesome just to obey. A small amount of satisfaction forming at the corners of his mouth as he saw Komui swallow nervously, Kanda maintained the glare and stood up sharply.

"Fine," he said, allowing the frustration to show in the grating tone of his voice and turning quickly on his heel, "But I'm not making any promises. You should keep the Moyashi on standby; he's far better at talking to idiots." He strode from the dining hall as angrily as possible, abandoning his meal to be cleared by that damn Supervisor-a small revenge, but worth it none the less.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Kanda slowed as he neared the infirmary, a little surprised not to be hearing the pathetic wails of protest that had been coming from the boy non-stop the day before, and briefly wondering if they had already managed to make him respond, and he wouldn't be needed anymore. His hopes were quickly dashed, however, when he pushed open the door and his eyes were drawn to where the nurses were gathering nervously around the only occupied bed.

Luke wasn't crying or protesting as he had expected, but instead was sitting completely still, staring at the wall in front of him impassively Kanda paused, about to question why the nurses couldn't treat him if he was simply ignoring them, until his eyes drifted further downwards, noticing the red stain that was slowly spreading across the once white bed sheet; Luke was sitting on his injured palm. Kanda shook his head irritably at Luke's stupidity, subconsciously standing straighter when he noticed Matron walking towards him, a stern but worn out expression on her face. Stopping just in front of him, she pulled a notepad and pencil from her pocket, handing it to him before speaking.

"Komui said you could talk to him?" she confirmed briskly, getting straight to the point as he stared at the pad in his hand, "He won't say a word to us, if he even acknowledges our presence it's only to glare or lash out…we're being treated as though we're trying to hurt him, not help him," she sighed, wiping a hand across her brow, "Which is what we're doing at the moment, really. His hand wasn't so bad until he sat on it."

"Why can't you just knock him out again?" Kanda almost instantly regretted the question leaving his mouth on seeing the vicious glare he was met with.

"People have done that far too much already," she muttered harshly, "It's no wonder he doesn't trust us," she gave him a slight push towards the bed, "Use the notepad if you need to work out what he's saying-anagrams are difficult if you don't write them down." Kanda's only retort was a soft 'che' as he turned towards the bed, taking a few, long strides until he stood directly opposite Luke, surveying him coldly and making sure he blocked his line of vision. Luke continued to stare through him, and the nurses gathered curiously together a small distance away, eager to know what the supposedly stone hearted Kanda would do to make him communicate.

"Brat, what are you doing? You're staining the sheets." He didn't bother concerning himself with gentleness or tact, and there was a shocked pause as the nurses murmured and Kanda waited, half wishing that the boy wouldn't respond.

"Htne ttah's hwta m'I gonad." The samurai wrote the sentence down phonetically, taking slightly longer than he'd presumed to translate the sentence because of a few missing letters.

_[Then that's what I'm doing] _Kanda shot the other a vicious glare, noticing that the look in Luke's eyes had changed from the previous day to something not quite apathetic, with just a faint trace of anger behind the mask. However, despite this new, stronger appearance, which also made him seem less of a kid and more of a teenager, though Kanda wouldn't stop calling him such, he couldn't control his shaking, making it very clear that his fear had yet to fade.

"Idiot, you're just making trouble for everyone. I should be training right now."

"Rinat, nhet. Stih aws ryuo tlfau ynaawy." _[Train, then. This was your fault anyway.]_ Kanda stared at what he had written and cursed.

"How the hell was it my fault!? You're the idiot who decided it'd be a great idea to grab the blade of a very sharp sword."

"Nkataa." Kanda didn't need the paper to translate that one, his face falling into an even deeper frown. _[katana]_

"Don't correct me on my own fucking mugen!" he snapped irritably, his plans for revenge against Komui intensifying severely and becoming several degrees more painful. He growled to himself, beginning to seriously consider the option of screwing his duties as an exorcist and walking out there and then, until a twitch at the corner of the boy's lips caught his eye. Kanda's expression didn't change, but his mind churned angrily; was he being toyed with?

"Are you making fun of me?" the question was characteristically blunt, and Luke seemed unable to control his laughter anymore, his free hand brought to cover his mouth as the hoarse and unfamiliar sound escaped, and a mischievous light entering the ice blue eyes, tinged with a small amount of hesitance, as though the experience was new to him.

"A tlilte," _[A little]_ The laughter died as quickly as it had came, the glint disappearing from his eyes and hand coming down to reveal a sad frown, "I n'tod tnaw ot eb reeh." _[I don't want to be here]_ Kanda snorted.

"I'd guessed," he commented drily, "But you went and sliced yourself, so you've got to be. The quicker they heal you, the quicker you can get out. Or hadn't you considered that?" Kanda smirked as Luke's glare hardened, a small victory as payment for his previous teasing.

"Uyo t'dno dnsnduarte." _[You don't understand] _Kanda scowled.

"Damn right I don't. And I don't care, either. If you're that eager to get out, though..." there was a soft 'shink' as the samurai unsheathed mugen slightly, "I'm sure a quick amputation would solve the problem." A scowl accompanied the glare this time, and Luke hissed behind his teeth.

"Pytsynw." he muttered, and Kanda wrote the letters dilligently before staring at what emerged on the paper, more than slightly confused.

"What?"

"Ynswtpy." this time he read the spelling aloud as he wrote it, a thoughtful frown forming on his face as he confirmed each one. He glared intensely at the paper, as if hoping that he could frighten it into making sense, but to no avail.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped eventually, looking back up at Luke, who merely shrugged. Kanda opened his mouth, about to interrogate him further, but his words quickly transformed into a groan as a voice sounded from behind.

"He's saying _Twpsyn,_" Lavi called out, emerging from where he had been hiding among the gathering of nurses, "It's Welsh." Luke's eyes seemed to widen slightly at the recognition of his language, and he looked towards the redhead with an amount of respect, who responded with a grin and a wave, "Yo, Yuu, Luke." Kanda glared at the use of his name, his usual anger amplified by the way Luke had looked at Lavi, despite the fact that Kanda had deciphered the anagrams Luke was using to talk before anyone else, and had been the first to establish communication. Why should he get less respect than the Usagi? He was the one who kept being forced to endure the brat's presence...

"Welsh?" he spat with disdain, making it sound as though the language itself was the cause of his anger, "What's it Welsh _for_, baka Usagi? And how long have you been there?" Lavi ignored the irritation that was clear in his friend's voice, continuing to smile broadly.

"Long enough, and it means 'idiot'. _Love_ your persuasion techniques, by the way-so full of cunning," he winked before turning thoughtful, "But you being Welsh would explain a lot..." he addressed Luke, who looked confused, "I mean, your accent is completely different from Moyashi-chan's, and the way you can pronounce all of those anagrams without tying your tongue in knots or sounding stupid," He laughed before adding, "_Dydd Da!"_ Luke smiled warmly at him, this time not trying to hide the expression, and Kanda's eyes narrowed.

"_S'mae_." he replied, and Lavi's grin widened, if that was possible, at the boy's response, and opened his mouth to say more, but froze in place as he found mugen at his throat.

"Can we stop speaking Welsh now?" Kanda demanded impatiently, glaring daggers at the red head and unsure of why he felt so much more angry than usual, but determined to pin it on the idiot in front of him, or perhaps the amount of time he'd been forced to spend with the one behind. Lavi laughed nervously, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Woah there, Yuu-chan; what's got you so worked up?" he scowled, jerking his thumb backwards to where Luke was sitting, watching the interaction curiously.

"He has. Having to spend so much time talking to a moron like him. So, seeing as he obviously wants to talk to you now, why don't you take over and give me a break?" Luke missed the bitter edge to Kanda's voice, and Kanda didn't turn to see the look of disappointment that crossed the other's face as he stormed towards the door, not realising that to Lavi, who had noticed both, he looed incredibly similar to a four year old having a tantrum, "And I'm not an idiot, brat." he added as an afterthought, leaving quickly and slamming the door behind him. Silence followed his exit, and Luke kept his gaze to the floor, ignoring Lavi's reassuring gaze and flinching when a comforting hand landed on his shoulder.

"Don't worry-you'll get used to him being like that," Lavi laughed softly, "I'll go talk to him now. Be good here and you'll be out in no time, OK?" he eased Luke's hand out from beneath his body, "and then you can spend loads more time with Yuu-chan!" Luke blinked, surprised, and Lavi let out one last laugh at the boy's reaction before setting off down the corridor, calling his 'best friend's' name with gusto.

* * *

_Dydd Da (pronounced D'eethe Dah)=_Good Day

_S'mae (pronounced Smie)=_Hi

**A/N:** Edited! I think the ending is improved this time, though I still don't love it...What does everyone think? Apologies again for the OOCness.

1. My computer...is...evil...

2. I had writers' block for ages…thanks, Sunny Optimism, for your help ^^

3. After getting over that, I was sent on my National Youth Choir course, and only came back yesterday, and they worked me to the bone...(or pelvic floor, but you might not get that joke ) Still, I got what I wanted; a free audition to the next level up, and to see people I never get to see, so it was worth it.

Are they good enough?

Reviews=much love and faster updates, because I have a lot of stories going at the moment.


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